NCS
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Body-camera footage exhibiting the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who had referred to as 911 for assist, was launched Monday in a case that has led to homicide costs in opposition to a deputy.
The 36-minute video launched through the Illinois State Police contains body-camera footage from every of the 2 Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies who responded to Massey’s home after midnight on July 6 after Massey referred to as 911 to report a potential “prowler” at her home in Springfield, in response to a court docket doc filed by prosecutors.
In the footage, deputy Sean Grayson and one other deputy converse calmly with Massey in her home when she goes to the range to show off a pot of boiling water. She then picks up the pot and the opposite deputy steps again, “away from your hot steaming water,” he says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she says in response.
“Huh?” the deputy says.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she repeats.
“You better f**king not or I swear to God I’ll f**king shoot you in the f**king face,” Grayson says.
He then attracts his firearm and factors it at her, and he or she geese and says, “I’m sorry” whereas lifting the pot, the video reveals.
“Drop the f**king pot!” each deputies yell.
Three photographs are heard. After a number of seconds of silence, one deputy says “shots fired” and requires emergency medical companies.
“Dude, I’m not taking f**king boiling water to the f**king head. And look, it came right to our feet, too,” Grayson says.
Minutes after the shooting, Grayson speaks to a different legislation enforcement determine. “She had boiling water and came at me with boiling water,” he says in the video. “She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at (me) with boiling water.”
NCS has sought remark from Grayson’s legal professional.
The release of the video comes about two weeks after the fatal shooting and simply days after Grayson was charged in her loss of life.
Grayson, 30, was indicted by a grand jury final week on three counts of first-degree homicide and one rely every of aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He has entered a not responsible plea and was denied pretrial release, in response to court docket information.
Massey is one of a quantity of Black ladies who’ve been killed by police in their very own properties in latest years, together with Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. In a information convention Monday afternoon, civil rights legal professional Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s household, related her loss of life to different instances of police violence in opposition to Black folks throughout the US.
“Until we get justice for Sonya Massey, we rebuke this discriminatory criminal justice system in the name of Jesus,” he mentioned.
Video reveals lead-up and aftermath
Grayson didn’t activate his physique digital camera till after he fatally shot Massey, in response to charging paperwork. The different deputy had activated his physique digital camera when he first arrived on the scene, the paperwork state.
According to footage from the opposite deputy’s physique digital camera, the incident started with the deputies strolling round Massey’s yard and discovering a car with damaged home windows. They then knock on the door and converse with her, and he or she struggles to know and reply some questions concerning the car and about herself.
As they converse in her lounge, the deputies observe the pot on the lit range and one says, “we don’t need a fire while we’re here.” Massey will get up and turns off the range and the shooting then follows.
Immediately after the shooting, the video information Grayson telling his associate Massey wouldn’t want medical assist.
The different deputy says he’s going to get a medical equipment to assist, however Grayson responds, “Nah, she’s done. You can go get it but that’s a headshot.”
Grayson later goes to his car to get his personal medical provides. When he will get again to the home, he asks if there’s something he can do, however is instructed no.
“All right, I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then,” Grayson says.
Next, Grayson leaves the home and speaks to a bunch of legislation enforcement officers exterior. “Yeah I’m good, this f**king b*tch is crazy,” he says, in response to the footage.
In the information convention Monday, together with members of her household, Crump mentioned Massey had psychological well being challenges however was not aggressive towards the deputies.
“She needed a helping hand,” he mentioned. “She didn’t need a bullet to the face.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, mentioned he initially acquired conflicting data from legislation enforcement.
“I was under the impression that a prowler had broken in and killed my baby. Never did they say that it was a deputy-involved shooting until my brother read it on the internet,” Wilburn mentioned on the information convention.
“We were led to believe that the intruder – or someone from the neighborhood – may have killed her. We were absolutely shocked to find out that it was a deputy who shot her,” Wilburn instructed NCS’s Laura Coates on Monday evening.
“You’re used to having ‘the talk’ with boys, but now I guess we have to talk to our girls about … their interactions with the police,” Wilburn mentioned.
Wilburn mentioned that his daughter’s loss of life had left him heartbroken.
“Sonya was a daddy’s girl. She never ended a conversation – whether by text or telephone or in person – without saying, ‘Daddy, I love you.’ And that’s the last message I have from my daughter that’s saved on my voicemail, was ‘Daddy, I love you’,” he mentioned.
Crump instructed Laura Coates that he anticipated the release of the video exhibiting the “heinous killing of this innocent woman” to impress the group.
“It’s so mindless. I imply, it’s disturbing. This video is reminiscent in the final presidential cycle in 2020 when the George Floyd video, you already know, inspired our group to behave.
“And in this 2024 election I believe this Sonya Massey video is going to encourage our community to act – because Sonya Massey deserved better than this,” Crump mentioned.
Since the shooting, native and state officers have criticized the deputy’s actions as an unjustified use of lethal pressure.
A evaluate of the Illinois State Police investigation into the shooting “does not support a finding that … Grayson was justified in his use of deadly force,” the state’s legal professional for the county, John Milhiser, mentioned in a July 17 information release.
In a court docket doc filed by the state final week, prosecutors mentioned a “use-of-force” knowledgeable had reviewed the body-camera footage and concluded the use of lethal pressure was not justified.
“(The expert) likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck,” the prosecutors wrote.
The sheriff’s workplace mentioned it has fired Grayson. “It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” the office said.
NCS consultants supplied comparable evaluation.
“Effective policing comes down to good judgment in highly stressful situations,” mentioned Josh Campbell, NCS safety correspondent and former federal agent. “Although being doused with scalding water could warrant the use of deadly force by an officer to stop a threat, in this video we certainly don’t see officers attempting alternative options, such as moving away and creating distance between themselves and Massey.”
“There were a number of ways to avoid this starting with better tactics from the outset,” mentioned NCS Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller, “but even if you forgive that and limit the observations to the last few seconds, there were still options of a calmer dialogue, more distance between the subject and them, a taser rather than a firearm.”
Grayson had labored at six totally different legislation enforcement businesses in Illinois since 2020, in response to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
He started working part-time on the Pawnee Police Department in August 2020, then moved to the Kincaid and Virden police departments, earlier than taking over full-time work with the Auburn Police Department then the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and – in May 2023 – Sangamon County.
It is unclear why Grayson modified jobs so steadily and NCS has reached out to the opposite legislation enforcement businesses for extra data.
The coaching and requirements board information present his Law Enforcement Certification has since been suspended.
A petition calling for an investigation into why Sangamon County employed Grayson was circulated at a march and barbecue in Springfield on Monday evening, NCS affiliate WICS reported.
Several hundred folks attended the gathering in honor of Massey, WICS mentioned.
“It was very powerful just seeing all of the people come out from our community. Different ages, different races, different sexual orientations all coming together for one cause, which is to get justice for Sonya Massey,” organizer Tiara Standage instructed WICS.
President Joe Biden mentioned in an announcement Monday that Massey’s household “deserves justice.”
“I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss. Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones, and community during this devastating time,” Biden mentioned in a written assertion.
“I commend the swift actions that were taken by the Springfield state’s attorney’s office. While we wait for the case to be prosecuted, let us pray to comfort the grieving. Congress must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now. Our fundamental commitment to justice is at stake,” the president added.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued an announcement Monday saying the footage was “horrific” and providing his sympathy to Massey’s household.
“As the community reacts to the release of the footage, I urge calm as this matter works its way through the criminal justice system,” he mentioned.
“In Illinois we have made sure that the law mandates independent investigations after officer involved shootings. In this matter it appears that the investigation by the Illinois State Police and the subsequent referral to the Sangamon County state’s attorney’s office have complied with the letter and spirit of the law by providing the appropriate transparency and moving toward accountability,” Raoul added.
This story has been up to date with further data.